The present invention generally relates to the fabrication of semiconductor devices, and particularly to the cleaning of semiconductor substrate surfaces.
The fabrication of semiconductor devices frequently requires the production of a uniform substrate surface for future processing. Contaminants on the surface of a substrate may undermine device performance by causing defects in device features formed adjacent to the substrate. Removal of these contaminants may therefore lead to increased device performance and reliability. As the features of microelectronic devices are reduced in size and increase in aspect ratio, it may be increasingly difficult to effectively clean some substrate surfaces quickly and without causing damage to the surrounding area. For example, silicide contacts are often formed on substrate surfaces to reduce resistance between the substrate and subsequent layers. Contaminants on the surface of the substrate where silicide is to be formed can cause defects or gaps in the formed silicide layer, increasing resistance and decreasing product yield due to insufficient contact areas. Removing these contaminants before forming the silicide layer can increase uniformity and therefore improve device efficiency and reliability as well as product yield.